Faces Seen, Hearts Unknown: Latino Students and College Persistence by Yolanda Vega, Assistant Director, Hope College TRiO Upward Bound Program will be held Monday, February 4 from 7 - 8 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall, reception following.

This is the annual Schregardus Phelps Scholars Lecture, sponsored by Darell and Mary Schregardus. The number of Latino students at Hope College nearly quadrupled between 2001 and 2011, rising from 46 to 175. Given the projected decline in white high school graduates (especially in Michigan), and the rapid increase in Latino high school graduates across the nation, we need to ask ourselves some important questions: Are we well-prepared to serve Latino students? What do individual faculty and staff need to know? What kinds of institutional changes should we consider?

Yoli Vega is a Hope alumna who has served in many roles at the college, from Admissions to Multicultural Life to Upward Bound. Last year, she completed a master's degree in higher education; her research project was on Latino persistence to graduation. We are grateful that she is willing to share what she has learned.